Better Late than Never!
by Momo Taishou
Summary: Who says Easter can't be a romantic holiday? Well, everyone's favorite Probie will prove to you that it can be! McAbby Easter Fluff, Implied Tiva


Well, I had to get it out of my head…yes, McAbby it is. And I managed to salvage my non-existant Valentine's fic!

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Abby Scuito walked into her lab early on the morning of February the fourteenth: Valentine's Day. She had always loved the particular holiday because from when she was a little girl, she would be showered with gifts from friends and admirers due to her bubbly personality and loveable disposition. This Valentine's Day was no different, so when Abby put away her bag and opened the door to her lab she found bouquets of black roses and other various gifts settled around the room. As usual, she inspected every one, carefully reading the cards and writing mental notes so she would remember to give each generous person a big hug. She began with the gothic teddy bear, a huggable gift from Gibbs, which was sitting on her Mass Spectrometer; and after about twenty minutes of card-reading and gift-admiring she had seen them all. One thing bothered her, however. She had not found a gift from Timothy McGee, the one person she wanted a gift from most of all. Every year since he joined the team he had given her Valentine's gifts, even after they became just friends he had still made sure there was a bouquet of 13 black roses waiting for her. She wished that he would have sent the bouquet, and she wished that she still had the courage to tell him how much she loves him, like she did when she entered her lab only a half-hour earlier.

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It had been five weeks and two days since what Abby thought of as 'the failed Valentine's Day'. She was much too sweet to hold any sort of grudge and had not acted any different towards Tim McGee since that day. She just wanted him to be happy, even if it meant that some other girl got the roses that she had become accustomed to receiving.

It was Sunday, Easter Sunday nonetheless, but the team was investigating the brutal murder of three Marines that had taken place two days ago. Abby walked down to the bullpen so she could give each of her best friends a little Easter gift, but was a little disappointed to find that Gibbs was not at his desk. She could not help but chuckle at the conversation Ziva and Tony were ending as she walked up.

"Zee-Vaahh…" Tony whined across the bullpen.

"What is it Tony?" came Ziva's annoyed voice from the other side.

Tony was attempting to balance a pencil on his nose, which fell off as he said, "I already told you! I'm bored!"

Ziva looked like she was about to murder him, but managed to recompose herself and coolly reply, "Well, you will be _very_ bored when we get home tonight if you do not shut up. If you really have nothing to do, then go help McGee."

Tony realized what she was implying and quickly scampered over to McGee's desk for fear of spending the night actually sleeping.

Abby gave each of them their gifts of chocolate and a hug, and then set Gibbs' gift on his desk. She turned to walk back to her lab when Tony called out, "Abby! Can I talk to you for a second?"

She walked back to the bullpen and Tony led her to the corner by the stairs while receiving a questioning look from Ziva and Gibbs, who had just walked into the bullpen. Tim stood up and announced that he was taking a bathroom break and would be right back, then quickly walked out of the room. Less than a minute later Abby began walking to the elevator while trying to explain to Tony, who was almost begging her to stay, that she had lots of evidence to process. Abby stepped into the elevator and Tony stood outside the closing doors in defeat for a few seconds before returning to his desk. 

Ziva looked up and asked, "What was that about?"

Tony gave one of his famous DiNozzo smiles and replied, "McGee's paying me to distract her." His face fell a bit as he continued, "But she got away, so I doubt Probie's going to give me the full twenty bucks."

This commment was followed by a questioning look from Ziva who then asked why Americans referred to money as male deer.

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Tim looked around Abby's lab, trying to find the perfect place to leave his gift for her, when he heard the elevator ding, causing him to jump. He whipped around just in time to see Abby open the door to the lab. She spotted him and asked him what he was doing in her lab. He just stood there for a few seconds before opening his mouth.

"I-I was uhhh…just, umm, well-I mean-I…" was all he could seem to say.

Abby took a step forward, to which he took a step backward, and she asked, "Are you okay, Tim? Did you need something?"

Tim opened his mouth and shut it again a few times before whatever thought was in his head seemed to settle. On his hurried way out of the lab he stopped in front of her for less than a second, handed her a beautifully wrapped box, and said, "Iloveyouwithallmyheartbye.", tripping over his words as they came out.

Abby just stared, open mouthed, at the spot where Tim had just stood before switching her gaze to the box in her hands. She was about to open it when Ducky came through the doors with samples to run and the suggestion that they be done quickly due to Gibbs' deteriorating patience. She set the box under her desk and got to work.

An hour later her mind was still wrapped around the box, but she had managed to run all of the samples and tell Gibbs almost exactly what he wanted to hear when he came for the results. He noticed her distraction and the box that was attracting her gaze, so he gave her a kiss on the cheek and told her to take a few minutes for herself.

As soon as Gibbs left the room she nearly lunged for the box and was barely able to refrain herself from ripping the gorgeous wrapping to shreds. She carefully untied the red bow and removed the glossy black paper to reveal a white box. Upon opening the box, she gasped. Inside were a single black rose, a chocolate bunny, and the most beautiful bracelet she had ever seen. She quickly put the rose in its own special vase right next to her computer, nibbled a bit off of the bunny's ear, and slipped the bracelet on her wrist. She inspected it closely and found that engraved on the inside was, 'Abby – I love you more that life itself – Tim'. She could not believe it! Her wish had come true and now it all made sense. Roses were pricey, especially the hard-to-find black ones, so he must have saved the money that he would have used on Valentine's Day to buy the expensive-looking bracelet. Tears began to well up in her eyes and she rushed into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face before going down to see Tim. She ran into the bullpen after almost having knocked over at least three clerks and a special agent only to find that the team, excluding Gibbs, was gone. 

"Gibbs!" she squeaked, "Where's Timmy?"

Gibbs looked up and smiled, realizing who the box must have been from, and replied, "Home. Team's gone for the night."

Abby said a rushed thank you before running to the elevator, deciding it was too slow, and opting for the stairs. Gibbs watched in amusement before walking up the stars to the Directors office.

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The doorbell rang and Tim got up from his writing desk to answer it. He hoped it would be Abby, there to give him a hug for the gifts, and hopefully not there to reject him and/or kill him without leaving forensic evidence. He answered the door but it was just the pizza delivery boy; Tim had been so consumed with thoughts of Abby that he had forgotten he had ordered food. He took the pizzas, payed the kid, and closed the door. He was halfway back to his desk when the bell rang again. He figured it was the delivery boy back for the tip which Tim had forgotten to pay, so he set down the pizzas and returned to the door. He was caught way off guard when Abby jumped through the doorframe right at him and enveloped him in a big hug, knocking him to the ground. It wasn't until a few seconds later that he regained his senses, if only slightly.

"Thank you soooo much Timmy! I love you too!" 

He looked at her before leaning in for a kiss, which she gladly returned.

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The sun shined through the small space between the curtains and Abby attempted to sit up, only to find she was being held down by Tim's arm. The previous night's events came back to her as she reveled in the pictures running through her head, and she smiled, thinking of a very creative way to wake up her lover.

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Well, that's it. Hope it was fluffy like cotton candy!


End file.
